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2006 discharge: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound)

2007/2047(DEC)

Based on the observations contained in the revenue and expenditure account and the balance sheet of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions for the financial year 2006, as well as on the Court of Auditor’s report and the Foundation’s replies to the Court’s observations, the Council recommends that the Parliament grant the Director of the Foundation discharge in respect of the implementation of the budget for the financial year 2006.

In doing so, the Council confirms that EUR 4.3 million (94%) of the appropriations carried over from 2005 to 2006 (EUR 4.6 million) was used, that the appropriations carried over from 2006 to 2007 amount to EUR 4.3 million and that a total of EUR 200 000 was cancelled.

Recalling that the Court of Auditors was able to obtain reasonable assurance that the Foundation’s annual accounts were, in all material aspects, reliable, the Council believes that there is a certain number of observations that must be taken into consideration when providing the discharge on the implementation of the 2006 budget, particularly regarding the following points:

  • Carry-overs: the Council regrets the recurring carry-over rates, which are exceptionally high, for administrative expenditure (Title II) and operating activities (Title III) of the Foundation and call on it to remedy this short-term situation. It notes the Court’s observation that the two contracts for services to be rendered exclusively in 2007 were charged in their entirety to the 2006 budget and encourages the Foundation to avoid such a practice in the future and to fully comply with the principle of annuality;
  • Recruitment procedure: the Council notes the Court’s observation on the shortcomings concerning the selection criteria which were neither decided at the outset nor defined in conformity with the vacancy notice. It calls on the Foundation to take action in this area, as soon as possible, in order to ensure that procedures are transparent and non-discriminatory.